Hayden Panettiere’s journey through Hollywood spotlighted a darker narrative within the industry, as revealed by Lynsey Lonberg, cherished by Panettiere as her “second mom”. Lonberg shed light on the disturbing experiences the late actress encountered as a young star, including allegations of being offered pills.

“In her book [“This Is Me: A Reckoning”], she describes me as her second mother. She was truly like a daughter to me,” Lonberg shared with the Daily Mail, reflecting on their close relationship.

The former “Heroes” star, whose career began in infancy, faced relentless battles with her personal demons, Lonberg noted, emphasizing her friend’s repeated efforts to overcome them despite the challenges inherent in being an actress.

During conversations with Lonberg, Panettiere reportedly opened up about the environment on set, claiming, “She told me that on set, you could find any pills, liquor—anything you wanted was available,” Lonberg recounted to the publication.

As Lonberg put it, “This kid didn’t stand a chance. Without Hollywood’s influence, I truly believe her path would have been a very different one.”

Lonberg said Panettiere “did the best she could” for her daughter, Kaya, whom she welcomed with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

“It was impossible for her [to] keep up what she was doing as an actress and try to take care of her daughter,” she shared.

“She was trying to overcome the problems she had with drugs,” Lonberg alleged.

Panettiere was found dead in an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday. She was 36.

According to an autopsy obtained by Page Six, the “Bring It On: All or Nothing” star had “no signs of trauma … that would have contributed to the death.”

A cause of death has not yet been revealed; however, a 911 call obtained by us revealed an “unidentified female” was in “cardiac arrest” following an alleged “overdose.”

Panettiere was often candid about her substance abuse struggles.

In her 2026 memoir, the “Scream VI” alum revealed she went to rehab after becoming dependent on alcohol following the traumatic birth of her daughter.

She also said she turned to prescription medication to deal with anxiety after Season 4 of “Nashville: began filming in 2015.

If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). 

In a dramatic twist to a high-stakes divorce case, the estranged spouse of a billionaire hedge fund magnate found herself blocked from testifying. The court uncovered that she had illicitly accessed her husband’s email accounts, influencing this decision.

Last week marked the beginning of legal proceedings for John and Laura Overdeck, both 56 years old, in New Jersey Family Court. This divorce case has captured attention as the largest contested one in the state’s history.

Hedge fund powerhouse John Overdeck, recognized by Forbes with a net worth of $8 billion, is slated to give testimony. His appearance follows a judge’s finding that Laura was involved in ‘multiple discovery abuses,’ as reported by the New York Post.

The court heard accusations that Laura intruded into John’s online privacy by capturing images of sensitive email exchanges—the messages involved were between him and his legal advisors—directly from his computer.

Despite a court directive ordering her to surrender the device containing these images, Laura delayed compliance for a staggering 13 months, according to Judge Bruce Buechler.

When she finally did, the photographs of the correspondence between John and his legal team had been deleted. Laura allegedly claimed to have deleted images because her phone was low on storage.

She also convinced post office staff to provide her with an extra key to John’s P.O. box so that she could ‘access the mail in that box,’ the judge said. She has not disclosed what items, if any, she took from the box.

In the wake of her actions, Buechler has issued what he called the ‘ultimate sanction’ and has dismissed her divorce complaint.

This means she is barred from presenting any affirmative evidence in the case, testifying in support of her claim or calling experts to the stand, the Post reported. 

Laura’s lawyers will instead need to grill John during cross examination to make their case.

Buechler, in his ruling, did note that the couple’s ‘assets need to be equitably distributed.’

In their opening statements, Laura’s lawyers claimed that John had ‘methodically and strategically’ tried for decades to secure his own wealth in case of a divorce. 

They claimed that he ‘schemed’ to leave her with as little as possible in the split, an amount they claimed was $633 million.

His lawyers said that John was now prepared to hand over $723 million in tax-free cash to Laura. 

The main sticking point between the two is over whether Laura is entitled to an even bigger sum tied to the value of John’s firm Two Sigma.

She is seeking 35 percent of the value of his stake in the firm, which according to her lawyer would be worth $6.2 billion. His lawyers claimed it equated to $4.9 billion.

His lawyers have said that the firm is not a marital asset while adding that it was founded two years before they wed in 2002. 

John’s lawyer Jonathan Wolfe said: ‘The company had done substantial work and managed hundreds of millions of dollars before the parties’ marriage.’

Her lawyer Therese Lyons countered that the company was just a ‘concept’ then and that it only started trading after they were wed. 

The company grew exponentially during their marriage, with John testifying last Wednesday that he had grown it from under $1 billion in 2001 to now $80 billion. 

Lyons claimed that as well as managing the firm with his partner he also ‘worked tirelessly’ to hide assets from his wife. 

She accused him of ‘planning his escape’ during their marriage, and accused him of a ‘scheme’ to strip billions out of their marital estate. 

Wolfe said that John earned $685 million during their marriage, all of which was held in a joint bank account. Prior to their marriage, John had already made billions, he added. 

Prior to co-founding Two Sigma with David Siegel, he had worked at DE Shaw & Co, an investment firm, and also helped Jeff Bezos launch Amazon. 

Wolfe said that John’s offer to his estranged wife was ‘more than enough to meet the needs of the parties’ marital lifestyle’. 

Laura is also now seeking hundreds of millions in treasury bonds that are held in a trust, as well as a court order handing her equal control of their family foundation. 

Failing that order, her lawyers have asked the court to have John give 50 percent of the value of their foundation to a charity of her choosing. 

According to a tax filing in 2024 seen by Bloomberg, their family foundation has assets in it totaling $920 million.

Laura holds a degree in astrophysics from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. 

She also founded and oversees a nonprofit called Bedtime Math that helps parents teach math to their kids. 

A leading Russian economist has been dismissed after publicly expressing concerns about Moscow’s faltering position in an economic “war of attrition” against the West. He forewarned of a potential social crisis, just as the European Union plans to intensify sanctions against Russia’s military and industrial sectors.

This situation transcends a simple reshuffling within the Kremlin. For the U.S. and its European partners, the critical question is whether sustained economic sanctions are beginning to limit Moscow’s capacity to maintain its military engagements or if Russia can endure the financial pressures while restoring its military resources.

Andrei Klepach, who served as the chief economist at the state development bank VEB.RF, was terminated following his statements highlighting Russia’s technological and economic decline and the increasing costs of its military actions in Ukraine. This information was disclosed by two sources familiar with the situation to Reuters on August 17.

The state-owned bank VEB confirmed Klepach’s departure but did not specify the reason. Klepach himself, who had been the chief economist since 2014 and previously spent ten years at Russia’s Economy Ministry, also acknowledged his firing.

“We are falling behind. We are losing both the technological and economic competition in the world,” Klepach said in a May speech to the Nikitsky Club, a forum of economists, academics and government officials. The remarks were delivered in May but did not draw attention in Russian media until last week.

“And we are losing it not only to China and the United States, in some ways we are losing it to Ukraine too,” he said, attributing Ukraine’s resilience in part to continued financial backing from the West.

“We will not win the competition in this war of attrition,” Klepach said. “We have the illusion that everything there [in Ukraine] will collapse. It has not collapsed and will not collapse. Our costs are mounting.”

Klepach acknowledged that Russia had proved resilient to Western sanctions but warned that Ukrainian attacks on energy and logistics infrastructure were creating additional economic pressure. Reuters noted that Russia’s central bank said in July that economic growth could fall as low as zero this year, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and other facilities have caused supply disruptions and added to inflation risks.

“Economically we will not collapse, but our lag will continue to grow, with all the resulting consequences,” Klepach said, predicting that Russia could face a social crisis “precisely when nobody is particularly expecting it.”

A European intelligence source told News Media that Russia’s deeper economic problems should not be confused with immediate financial pressure on President Vladimir Putin. The source said higher oil prices had helped Moscow cover more of its budget deficit and could give the Kremlin additional time before economic constraints begin forcing difficult choices over the war. “It doesn’t solve the fundamental economic problems in Russia, but from a budgetary point of view, Putin is OK actually,” the source said. “He’s not under pressure.”

The source argued that this could delay expectations that deteriorating economic and budget conditions would eventually pressure Putin to end the war, potentially allowing Moscow to continue fighting “another spring” or “another season.” The assessment adds a counterpoint to Klepach’s warning: Russia may be losing ground economically over the longer term while still retaining enough near-term revenue to sustain its war effort.

The warning comes as the European Union prepares to intensify its economic pressure on Moscow.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Germany’s Die Welt that she plans to propose what she called the “most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war.” Kallas said existing EU sanctions had deprived Russia’s war machine of more than $1.16 trillion, a figure presented by Kallas and reported by Reuters on Aug. 17.

EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that the bloc’s diplomatic service is expected to propose sanctions against approximately 1,600 additional Russian individuals and entities, with a particular focus on the country’s military-industrial complex.

The measures are expected to include asset freezes along with travel and transaction bans. Officials plan to present the list to EU governments in early September and aim for adoption in October.

Inside Russia, authorities also moved Monday against one of the country’s remaining prominent liberal opposition figures.

Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, was sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony, independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported. Shlosberg was accused of “discrediting Russia’s armed forces and spreading false information” about them.

Shlosberg, who described the war during his trial as a catastrophe for Russia, maintained his innocence and said the case against him was political. He also repeated his call for a ceasefire. The sentencing came a week after Russia’s Supreme Court barred Yabloko from participating in next month’s parliamentary election.

Meanwhile, attacks continued through the weekend and into Monday.

Russian strikes targeted port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Izmail district in the Odesa region overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities. A separate strike damaged a civilian Togo-flagged vessel and injured four people. Across the border, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a woman and struck an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region, the regional governor said.

Separately, ArcelorMittal said a Russian missile strike on its Kryvyi Rih steel plant over the weekend killed two employees and injured three employees and contractors, damaging major energy and blast-furnace facilities and partially halting production.

Nearly a year before her untimely passing at the age of 36, Hayden Panettiere spoke fondly about her deep connection with Michelle Trachtenberg, her co-star in the movie “Ice Princess.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last September, the “Heroes” star shared that she had known Trachtenberg long before they appeared together in the 2005 Disney film. Sadly, Trachtenberg passed away in February 2025 at the age of 39.

“Actually, her grandmother lived across the street from my grandparents in Brooklyn. So I knew Michelle way before that,” Panettiere recalled.

“Yeah, like ‘Harriet the Spy’ days,” she added, referencing Trachtenberg’s 1996 breakout role.

Panettiere went on to describe how they not only shared careers in the same industry but also had the unique experience of growing up familiar with each other’s families due to their neighborhood connection.

“We would have block parties. So I have memories of her and I from long ago,” Panettiere shared.

In “Ice Princess,” Trachtenberg plays brainy high school student Casey Carlyle who uses physics to become a competitive figure skater, which puts her at odds with skater Gen Harwood, the daughter of Casey’s coach, Tina (Kim Cattrall).

However, Casey and Gen eventually form a close friendship.

“It was great to work with her,” Panettiere said of Trachtenberg. “It was great to work with Kim Cattrall who was in that, who is amazing, is phenomenal.”

She continued, “It was such a unique experience. I mean, we had to learn how to figure-skate in six weeks, which is no easy feat. But it was so much fun. We had a lot of fun and I’m very grateful that I have the memories that I have with her.”

Panettiere and Trachtenberg both rose to fame as child stars, having appeared on the soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” respectively.

Trachtenberg, who was also famous for her roles in “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” died of complications from diabetes mellitus on Feb. 26, 2025.

Prior to her death, she had undergone a liver transplant and struggled with addiction.

Panettiere, meanwhile, died over the weekend after being found “unresponsive” and “in cardiac arrest” at an Airbnb rental inside the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

The 911 dispatch call exclusively obtained by Page Six revealed that authorities reported an “overdose” and that “CPR [was] in progress.”

Medics attempted to resuscitate Panettiere with advanced cardiac life support and chest compressions, but she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.

Panettiere, who battled addiction and postpartum depression, was allegedly suffering from “really severe” back pain before her death.

After Panettiere’s passing, “Ice Princess” director Tim Fywell released an emotional statement honoring both stars of the film.

“In what was often a tough and technically complicated shoot, and my first Hollywood movie, they were delightful to work with and great to have around,” Fywell told Variety on Monday.

The filmmaker added, “I remember them both with huge affection, how they were 20 odd years ago, at that relatively uncomplicated time of their lives, two shining talents, gone far too soon.”